‘I’m the same as all the other men in here,’ Kankava blasted. ‘You help them each and every day. But you never look at them with the same contempt with which you look at me.’
Anna turned and moved to the sink and washed her hands in scolding hot water, trying to remove the remnants of Kankava from her skin. His words filled her head. He was right, she did think of him differently. She’d never liked him – a natural instinct. Perhaps that was unfair. Most likely, she mused, it wasn’t. He was sinister and creepy.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I didn’t realise you needed my help. I guess I thought you were more able.’
Kankava smiled, calmed. ‘I try to be, dear Anna. Nobody likes their independence to be taken away from them. But I’m not getting any younger. I’ve often wondered how long it will be before I’m just another patient here rather than the man in charge.’
Anna finished washing her hands then dried them on a small towel by the side of the sink. ‘Is that all?’ she asked, wanting more than anything to get the hell out of there.
‘Yes. For now. But I’d like you to come back and help me again tonight,’ Kankava said. ‘Before I go to bed. Maria and Viktoria can’t always be expected to do everything for me. And you’re not a little girl anymore.’
‘Of course,’ Anna said, though she felt sick at the thought.
‘Good. When you’ve finished your rounds at nine, you come straight here.’
‘I will.’
‘I look forward to it,’ Kankava purred. ‘Go back now. Don’t let me keep you from your work.’
Anna spun round, and walked as quickly as she could out of there, a mixture of anger, embarrassment and fear gripping her.
Don’t ever show them you’re scared.
She would try her damnedest. She always had. But if Kankava was thinking what she thought he was thinking, then she wasn’t sure how long she’d be able to hold out.
CHAPTER 11
It was nearly eleven p.m. when Anna crept back to her bedroom that night. The pain she felt in her groin was nothing compared to the anger in her mind. She was furious at her own naivety. She’d been staying in the house for three months. How could she not have seen the signs earlier? She shared a bedroom with Maria and Viktoria every night yet she’d never deduced what happened when the others were sent to help Kankava. She’d never questioned the unlikely stories of how they’d come to have the bruises and marks on their skin. It had seemed plausible that perhaps they had fallen or one of the patients had lashed out at them. After all, some of the more able-bodied men were known for their violent outbursts.
Or maybe she had known all along but had simply been in denial.
Regardless, Anna was also furious at Maria and Viktoria. How could they not have warned her? She was only fourteen. Why had they not tried to protect her?
Anna was glad to see the lights were off as she opened the bedroom door. At least that way Maria and Viktoria, if they were even awake, wouldn't see the tears which covered Anna’s face. But no sooner had she closed the door than Maria’s bedside light came on. Anna saw that both women were awake.
‘Are you okay?’ Maria asked, sitting up. She looked genuinely concerned but Anna felt only anger.
‘How could you let that happen to me!’ Anna screamed before beginning to sob. ‘Why didn’t you warn me?’
Maria jumped from the bed and rushed over to put an arm round Anna. But comfort was the last thing Anna wanted from these two.
‘Don’t touch me!’ she boomed, her face contorting with rage as she shoved Maria hard in the chest.
Maria stumbled backwards and fell to the floor, a dumbstruck look on her face. She turned to Viktoria as if questioning what to say or do. Viktoria got to her feet and went to help Maria.
‘We didn’t know,’ Viktoria said. ‘We didn’t know he would do that to you. We would have told you. We really would.’
Viktoria’s heartfelt tone did little to calm Anna. She was raging. Yet these two, Anna realised, were likely as much victims as she was. Perhaps they had thought they were doing the right thing in not telling the truth sooner. Protecting Anna from the evils of life like a parent would.
But they should have known, Anna firmly believed. They should have known what Kankava would do to her, even if they couldn’t bring themselves to admit it.
‘What happened?’ Viktoria asked, a look of disgust on her face.
‘I’m not going to talk to you about it,’ Anna spat. ‘I don’t ever want to think about it.’
‘It’s okay,’ Viktoria said. ‘We’re here for each other. We have to stick together.’
‘Stick together?’ Anna said. ‘What are you talking about? You two waltz around here allowing this to happen. What the hell is wrong with you?’
‘There’s no other way,’ Maria said, bowing her head.
‘There’s always another way,’ Anna countered.
‘Please, Anna,’ Viktoria said. ‘You’re angry. And you have every right to be. But don’t go getting silly thoughts. I know what you’re thinking. Kankava is one man, right? Just one old man. But it’s not like that. Not here.’
Anna wasn’t sure how to take those words. If anything they only made her position even more disturbing.
‘How can you stand to be here?’ Anna said.
‘They’d kill us if we tried to leave,’ Maria said.
‘Who?’
‘Who do you think?’ Maria said.
‘Anna, we don’t know why your father brought you here,’ Viktoria said. ‘Perhaps he really didn’t know. But this place, what happens here, it isn’t just Kankava.’
‘The Mkhedrioni?’ Anna said.
‘Where do you think the money comes from to run this place?’
‘But they don’t even exist anymore.’
‘Of course they do. Making something illegal doesn’t make it go away. The Mkhedrioni still exist. And this place... it’s theirs. We’re theirs.’
‘We’ll try to protect you,’ Maria said. ‘We’ll try everything we can. You’re young. Too young for this. But please, don’t try to run. And don’t try to fight it. It never works out well if you do.’
‘Listen to her,’ Viktoria said. ‘If you want any kind of life, you have to listen.’
‘You’re weak,’ Anna said. ‘Both of you. I can never be like you.’
Viktoria shook her head. ‘Maybe we are. But we’re alive and we’re safe. You can hate us if you want. We won’t think any less of you. But whatever you choose to do, don’t ever say we didn’t warn you.’
Anna said nothing more to the two women as she moved over to her bed, pulled back the covers, and climbed in fully dressed. She’d never seen Maria and Viktoria as friends. They were colleagues, acquaintances. They were ten years older than her, such a big difference to a teenage girl. She’d trusted them, respected them, but she’d never opened up to them about who she was. And she resolved at that point she never would.